memories
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Google updates Photos with redesigned Memories and a new collage editor
You’ll be able to share entire memories with friends and family too.
Snapchat adds memories and exploration features to the Snap Map
These are the first of several Layers that are coming to the Snap Map.
Google Photos' new Memories include 3D cinematic images
Google Photos will start turning your old images into new types of Memories over the coming weeks. The Memories feature displays old photos saved in your account in a stories-like format similar to Snap’s and Facebook’s. These new types of Memories can add new life to your old images, though, instead of showing them to you as they are — Cinematic photos, for instance, add animation to previously still images. The feature uses machine learning to predict an image’s depth and to create a 3D representation of a scene.
Google Photos has a new stories-style 'Memories' feature
The cameras on our phones keep getting better, and we keep taking more and more pictures. That presents a challenge for for Apple and Google: how to surface the best moments out of the thousands of photos we shoot every year? iOS 13 has a new intelligent view that shows users highlights from any day, month or year, and now Google's making some changes to its Photos apps to help people see meaningful pics from the past. Unsurprisingly, the new feature is called Memories, and it uses the popular "stories" format you'll see in Snapchat and Instagram to show you photos from your past.
Facebook's Memories is a dedicated spot for nostalgia
Facebook's On This Day and other nostalgia-driven posts are helpful for reminding you of moments from years past, but they eventually drift out of your News Feed. What if you want to revisit them at any time? You can now. The social site has launched a dedicated Memories section that collects all those souvenirs and anniversaries in a single place. It also includes previous "Memories You May Have Missed" and "Recaps" features that respectively help you catch up on milestones and summarize a busy season.
Snapchat Memories saves your favorite moments
Just because Snapchat mostly revolves around disappearing messages doesn't mean you always want those snaps to go away. In fact the company wants to help you do just the opposite -- it's launching Memories, a feature that saves both snaps and Stories for posterity. Once you've saved shots to Memories, you can create a Story from them or even link multiple Stories together. If you've been using Snapchat to document an epic vacation, you can share the whole thing as a giant collection of photos and videos. You should see the feature arrive sometime in the next month, and you'll get a chat when it's ready for you to use.
Facebook's 'On This Day' feature has controls to filter out sad times
Facebook's On This Day tool is a nice feature when it recalls good times that may have slipped your mind. It has a tendency to bring up events and people that you might prefer to forget, though, and the social network added preferences to curtail the sadness. On This Day now has controls that'll let you filter out specific people and dates so the feature doesn't remind you of those bits of nostalgia you'd rather not revisit. Facebook has come under fire for toying with our emotions and digging up the past before, and there's already been some criticism of On This Day since it launched in March. By adding preferences, Zuckerberg & Co. are offering a way to keep those bad memories at bay. It's a nice touch, since you never know exactly when the memory machine will pop up in your News Feed. If you've noticed On This Day posts there, the new controls should be available for you to tweak.
The Daily Grind: Do you make tributes to the lost?
There are games I will remember for the rest of my life, even though they're gone. I still have all of my screenshots from the vigil in Atlas Park when City of Heroes was on the chopping block. I have documents I wrote up for defunct guilds in games I no longer play. My wife and I wrote up stories about the ultimate fates of our characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic when we realized we were probably never going back. Some goodbyes are more permanent than others, but for some people, goodbye is a chance to move on and never look back. For others, even though you say goodbye, you keep a piece of it with you. You make a tribute. So what about you, readers? Do you make tributes to the games, online friends, guilds, and even periods of time that are gone forever? Or are you the first to say out with the old, in with the new? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Scientists show how you can restore lost memories
It's scary to lose memories, especially in the early phases of diseases like Alzheimer's -- you're really losing part of yourself. Thankfully, researchers at UCLA may have found a way to get those memories back. They've conducted experiments suggesting that memories aren't stored in synapses, as established theory dictates. Instead, you only need to make sure that neurons are intact and that the brain can synthesize the proteins needed to form new synaptic links. In a snail, memories came rushing back after scientists stopped using a protein synthesis inhibitor that curbed synaptic growth. Those memories would have been gone forever if the synapses themselves were really the key.
Researchers figure out how to turn bad memories into good ones (in mice)
We've all got memories we wish we could view less negatively. Some are trivial, like that drunken display at the office party; some are serious and create genuine psychological challenges. So far, researchers have figured out how to create false ones, or remove them entirely. Now -- in mice at least -- scientists have converted a bad memory into a good one. The researches established good and bad memories in the mice (with food rewards, or light shocks) and recorded the parts of the brain that dealt with the location (hippocampus) of those events, and the emotional recording part (amygdala). To switch the memories, when the mice returned to the location where they received the shock or food, they triggered the location memory of the other event. The mice then displayed behaviours consistent with the opposite memory (quickly moving from, or remaining calm in the current location). While the work gives us a new insight into the mechanics of memory, the process is too complex and invasive for there to be any hope of it being used for treatment of obvious conditions like PTSD. It could however lead to further validation of other therapies (like CBT) that work on similar principles. [Image credit: rduffy/Flickr]
Scientists can create and erase memories 'at will'
A person is the sum of their memories, so what happens when our personal histories can be deleted at will? That's the ethical dilemma facing researchers over at the University of California, San Diego, who have found that it's possible to delete and recover memories created in the minds of genetically engineered rats in the same way MIT scientists did with mice last year. In a slightly gruesome series of experiments, the rodents were given electric shocks while their neurons were bombarded by light pulses delivered by an optical fiber implanted into their brains. After a while, the shocks stopped, but whenever their brains were stimulated, the rats continued to feel fear, since they were drawing on memories.
The Daily Grind: Are there games you miss but still don't play?
I don't really play Final Fantasy XI these days. I miss it, though -- quite a bit, even. It was my first MMO, and while a lot of its feel shines through in Final Fantasy XIV, it's not quite the same. But I don't really have the time to play it even by its lonesome, let alone with multiple other games already on my agenda, so it's not on my playlist, even though I still get the periodic urge to throw caution to the wind and dive right back in. There are games we want to play but can't (such as City of Heroes, in my case) and games we want to play and do, but we don't talk much about the games we want to play but still don't. Are there games you miss but still don't play? Are they previous favorites you grew out of, places with lots of emotional memories that don't hold up to reality, or really fun games that just get edged out by games you find even more fun? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Last Door chapter 2 is ready to scare your browser
The second chapter of The Last Door, titled "Memories," is now available. The latest chapter in the point-and-click, gothic horror adventure can be had for a "pay what you want" donation to developer The Game Kitchen. Funds will go toward making the third chapter, "The Four Witnesses." We really enjoyed the first chapter, making note of the game's ability to frighten us despite its pixelated presentation. Speaking of which, the first chapter is now free-to-play once you register for an account.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy nostalgia
There's nothing quite like Final Fantasy XI. Nor is there anything quite like Final Fantasy XIV. The two are similar enough that you can use one as a substitute for the other in a pinch, but both possess a certain feel that just isn't found in any other game. That's neither good nor bad; it just is. Watching the trailer for Seekers of Adoulin gave me a powerful blast of Final Fantasy XI nostalgia, and while I could wax poetic about how the game I remember isn't the game that exists any longer, that's not really the point. The point is that for all the frustrations of the games, there's a lot of joy in both. So today I just plucked my top five memories from both FFXI and Final Fantasy XIV to share with you, since I bet that some of you have the same sort of glowing nostalgia. Even if you don't want the good old days to come back (I sure don't), you can still remember them with a smile.
The Daily Grind: If you could erase your memories of a game for a fresh experience, would you?
No matter how we attempt to come at our favorite MMO at a new angle, the truth is that it's impossible to fully recapture the wonder, the enormity, and the uncertainty that came with your first few days in the game. There was something special about all of that unknown, wasn't there? It's easy to fondly recall a time when you didn't know all of the mechanics like the back of your hand, but had to figure everything out one step at a time. I've seen a lot of people try to emulate the giddy high of those first days in a number of ways, which makes me wonder if a memory-wiping service would be embraced by some. It's kind of tempting to think about: completely erasing any of your experiences from a game, allowing you to try it for the first time a second time. So if this hypothetical service was a real thing, would you take advantage of rebooting your memories for a fresh take at your favorite MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Daily iPhone App: Boomtime Baseball reaches for baseball's golden age
Honestly, baseball is probably the last thing I want to think about right now, given that my Cubs just finished the season with 101 excruciating losses. But if you still enjoy the crack of the bat against the ball, Boomtime Baseball (free) might work for you. While it has some issues, it will at least provide you with that great feeling of knocking baseballs around in a classic era. Unfortunately, Boomtime Baseball doesn't go for the whole game: It's a series of minigames, most of which just involve you hitting pitches. But the hitting mechanic is rather fun. You swipe down the screen to power up and aim, and then let go to swing hit when the ball comes through. It doesn't really feel much like baseball -- it's more like an arcade game that's themed in baseball memories. But it is fun, and there are a few different types of games to play, including one where you fill up a slugger meter, and another where you bet in "Al's Casino." I have two gripes with Boomtime Baseball. First, the in-app purchases are frustrating. You need to buy everything in the game, and while that's doable just by earning points in the minigames, the game doesn't let you forget at all that you should be spending money on it. Also, the presentation is lacking. You'd think that "Boomtime Baseball" would offer up some official information on old players or teams, but nope. All of the players are just generic. And the game's sounds will probably need to be turned off as well. I could only take so many "oh my"s from the old-timey announcer. All in all, Boomtime Baseball isn't bad, but it's probably only worth picking up if you just really, really need to scratch that ballpark itch now that the real ones are closing up. It's too bad the developers here didn't go further with what started out as an interesting idea.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite City of Heroes memory?
I picked up City of Heroes shortly after the game launched, and I've been playing the game on and off ever since. Finding out that it's going to be gone before the end of the year stirs a lot of memories, like the first time I ever encountered one of the Rikti, the first fights against the Fifth Column, or marching around with a cape for the first time. Memories that I'll have no matter what, made more than a little bittersweet by the news of the game's impending closure. Not everyone has played the game, but after its long lifespan and the free-to-play conversion, odds are good that most MMO veterans have some recollection of playing. So as we look forward to the end, what's your favorite memory of City of Heroes? What anecdotes do you have about the first superhero MMORPG from its long and storied run? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
A reflective festival launches for Guild Wars
You might have heard about a game named Guild Wars 2 that's coming out in just a little more than a week. And that's all well and good, but what does this mean for the original Guild Wars? Shall old acquaintance be forgot? Will the game be forgotten altogether? Whatever happens next, you'll want to refresh your memories about the game before its sequel comes out, and that's the focus of the Wayfarer's Reverie running until August 30th. Players will have special festival quests to undertake, highlighting the memories and experiences of player journeys through each storyline. These questgivers can be found in each of the four major cities from the four expansions. That's not all that players can expect, however. Special drops will also be in effect for the whole of the event, and there will be several NPCs scattered through the cities to share recollections of the game's history. Guild Wars players should check out the event -- it's not a prelude to the end but the prelude to a new beginning.
Steve Jobs and the "rubber band" patent
There's a lot of patent throwdowns going on in the tech industry lately, and it's very easy to see them as just a battle of titans, of huge corporations going up against each other for assets and portfolios of arbitrary "features." But here's a story that reminds you of the human side of all of this, and of what these patent battles are really supposed to be: Protection for those people who have the creativity and courage to put new ideas forward. One of the patents involved in the Apple/Samsung battle right now is the so-called "rubber-band" patent, according to Yoni Heisler at NetworkWorld it was one of Steve Jobs' favorite features. That's the scrolling effect that occurs when you reach the end of a webpage in Mobile Safari. It was later used for a "pull-to-refresh" effect that quite a few companies have copied since. The Next Web recounts that this patent was ascribed to a UI designer named Bas Ording, who Steve Jobs reportedly hired after meeting him in the lobby the afternoon after an unsuccessful job interview. Ording supposedly showed him a demo of a feature that would allow users to see more icons in their OS X Dock by pulling up a magnifying glass whenever they hovered over the icons already there. "I said, 'My God,' and hired him on the spot," says Jobs in Walter Isaacon's biography. Ording later came up with the scrolling feature and, according to testimony from Scott Forstall in the ongoing Samsung/Apple trial, the role it played in creating the iPhone interface made it one of Jobs' favorite patents. Forstall said that "rubber banding is one of the sort of key things for the fluidity of the iPhone and - and all of iOS, and so I know it was one of the ones that Steve really cared about." In initial talks with Samsung, that patent was one of the items that Jobs specifically laid claim to as Apple's. That's one of the main reasons that Apple and Samsung are fighting so vehemently over the patent portfolio. It's easy to see these as patent battles as two companies fighting over millions of dollars, but it's also important to remember that there are human achievements to recognize among these patents as well.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me get my iPhoto library under control
Dear Aunt TUAW, Do you have any good ideas for cleaning out a 165GB iPhoto library and getting it down to a manageable size? Your loving nephew, Mike Dear Mike, Back in the days of film, each shot had a real cost. People realized, "If I snap this, it will cost $ for film and $ for printing" because you couldn't pick and choose shots on the roll at most photo processors. Then video happened. And digital cameras. And people got out of control. When you had 12 shots on a roll, you treated each one like a precious gem. You took maybe one or two photos per event, and then you put it in a photo album, maybe framed it. Now people don't enjoy their pictures because they have too many. When you record your entire life, where are the moments that matter? Even more, when you spend your life with an iPhone in front of your face, what kind of connection can you have with other people? People watch entire *live* concerts through their phone. You might have seen this during the Olympics opening ceremonies, too. Who's actually experiencing that event? The person or the iPhone? It's a thin line to ride: record this incredible experience or pay attention and be part of it. Professionals might need to be shooting all the time; amateurs (from the French, "lover of") are supposed to be enjoying what's going on around them. Yes, you can go all Alien with a camera strapped to your chest or a GoPro -- set it, forget it, and pay attention to what's going on, but even though you can now look around and enjoy the event, a vast monster of digital backlog is waiting to drown your computer. Utilities and approaches to deal with it may be current or abandonware or possibly somewhat ill-advised, but no software is going to tackle the core problem -- not even if you switch to the more library-flexible Aperture or Lightroom. How do you trim your iPhoto library (or libraries) to a manageable size? Discipline. Even if you're not OK starting from scratch, you still have to be willing to ruthlessly throw away memories. Allow yourself to curate your experience and pick just a moment or two. Select shots that have people's faces in them, or that show life in action, and then toss the rest. Just let them go, like the flow of time passing through your fingers. (And don't forget to empty iPhoto's in-app Trash.) You can open up iPhoto holding down Option and Command for some minor cleanup tools (including a thumbnail cache cleanout that's recommended by our commenters), and if you find that you have to split off a chunk of your library and file it away on discs, iPhoto Library Manager can help, but beware of bit rot -- pick your favorites, spend a little money and get them printed in a real album that can sit on a real, physical shelf. The secret of the iPhoto library is this: smaller is better. Too many moments mean that you won't enjoy any of them. Hugs, Auntie T.
